Lishuu

Lishuu

Level 11

HP: 220/220 EN: 40/40

DMG: 1

It's always interesting to see how other cultures celebrated. In some parts of the world, Lish noted, there was no national recognition of holidays that were venerated in others. And for those nations that shared in the festivities, scant few of them enjoyed the same foods. Even regional variances existed, a fact she'd learned on the west coast of the US in school when she'd visited another friend's home for the holidays in her second year. California was a world unto itself, a place much of the other states seemed to cultivate their own opinions about.

For her though, much of the way they thought seemed more like home than the other states. Surprising and shocking political opinions made her uncomfortable at times, while at others, she found herself unwittingly compelled to understand what had allowed such diverse and at times- in her own opinion- extreme philosophies to substantiate and spread.

Inside Aincrad, all of that was suspended. Whatever they brought in with them conglomerated in a mishmash of traditions over the course of six years, to the point there was little religion or sanctimony involved. At this point, it was an opportunity to step away from the daily strife and come together in positivity.

In short, it was just the kind of event she got motivated for.

Though it had been some time since she met him, Lish reached out to Koga and got the details. She would be late, but only fashionably so. Unlike many other Players, she hadn't fostered her cooking skill. Instead, she'd spent her time learning about how people lived and worked together, and she was doing her best to make Aincrad's society cohesive and friendlier.

Work was admittedly hard.

She still knew so few of the people fighting on the Frontlines. Those were the people struggling the most at times, who's lives were on the line constantly for the sake of others who were too weak or afraid to take that next step. It was important to understand that perspective as much as it was every other.

Because sometimes, it put people on edge and at odds. What better place for a fledgling Anthropologist to flex her muscles? With a bright smile, she rapped at the door and waved, waiting patiently to be noticed and ushered inside.

"Koga?" she leaned forward slightly, revealing a wry smile and fluttering her lashes sweetly. "Have I found the place?" she asked.

Let there be Light

Lishuu level 4

The second floor was an entirely different world for her. Where on the first, most of the people she saw were united in commerce and an effort to live peacefully, Urbus was less centralized. People still roamed and kept themselves busy, but it felt less like a cultural hub. The traffic here felt sparse, erratic, almost like it was dismissed and forgotten as the Frontliners left it in their wake. For those Players still coming up, it posed the opportunity to learn more about the world of Aincrad at a steady pace, and held greater challenges to be faced.

Somehow, she still felt bland about it. She knew a handful of people, including Starla and Koga, and she didn't want to bother either of them so soon after the last debacle. If she wasn't able to take ownership of her weakness, she'd never be able to face it. The more that she thought about that, the more she realized it stifled her ability to be free. More ability to act, greater strength in this world meant less restrictions. And Lish hated restrictions.

For a person to grow, she reasoned, they need to be limited by only themselves. They needed to find the upper limit of what they could do and optimize their skills within that scope. That was her model, at least- how it worked in practice, she had yet to hammer out entirely. Given that she was among the very weakest people in this digital hell and the most restrained by her limitations, she couldn't test her hypothesis. That meant in order to experience growth, she needed to push the boundaries she'd placed upon herself over the course of two years.

Because of that, the difficulty and the parameters of the entire experiment were constantly changing. One day, when they were all free of this place and in the real world again, she'd use the data for a thesis. She'd publish a study- oh yes, that sounded wonderful.

Promptly, Lishuu was broken from the spell cast over thoughts by a woman who appeared to be rushing up to Players and NPCs alike. "Well that's odd," she murmured as the girl looked desperately up at a man, who turned up his nose at her. "And that's rude," she muttered beneath her breath.

Maybe the girl would come to her?

Oh, thank heavens.

Perhaps it got easier after the first time, but when Lish came around for the next Boar Pup, her lance ripped straight through with low effort. The creature let out a pitiful yowl in response, but the attack had been on the whole much less damaging than her first. Because of that, it didn't simply wipe the creature off the face of Aincrad.

Which meant that it turned its sights on her. She felt a chill run down her spine as it's artificial enmity focused in her direction, and she held the lance level as she took a healthy hop backward. "I don't think it's happy with me," she blinked as she kept the weapon leveled between her and imminent danger. "But I got it! Someone else finish the job!"

Admittedly, the lack of instant gratification was enough to dishearten her as much as all the previous failures to hit at all. This system wasn't unfair per se, but it didn't have any love for those who weren't accustomed to it. In short, a true product of her generation, Lishuu was most disgruntled by Cardinal's lack of basic human empathy.

...well, maybe the programmer's lack of compassion was a more apt conclusion to draw.

Regardless, she watched carefully to see what the Boar Pup would do next. 

ID# 187624 Battle: 6

[0] Starla | Level: 4 | HP: 78/80 | EN: 4/8 [+1 Turn Regeneration] [-2 Miss!] | DMG: 4 | MIT: 5 | EVA: 1 | KEEN: 1
[1] Lishuu | Level 4 | HP: 77/80 | EN: 4/8  | DMG: 4
[0] Recon | Level 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN:  2/8 | DMG: 8 
[0] Koga | HP: 760/760 | EN: 76/76 | DMG: 15 | EVA: 2  | MIT: 18 | ACC: 4 | BRN: 24 | BLT: 24 | FALN: 4 | REGN: 10

Boar Pup 5 | HP: 1/5 (-4)| DMG: 3

Current Level: 4
Current SP: 9
Link to SP Tracking: Here!
Item Upgrades:

Notes:
Very new character, just updating to 3.0 so I can write with the others~

It seemed that Starla wasn't willing to let Lishuu give in. The blue haired woman sighed and shook her head at how easily positivity could lift her spirits. Then again, was that really such a bad thing? Alicia hated to let her friends down, and when they did things to help improve her mood, she immediately felt like she had to live up to the confidence that they placed in her.

So, without giving her determination up, the woman hefted her heavy Lance again and turned to face the Boar that had, as of yet, evaded every attempt she'd made to pierce it. No more. With a few sways of her hips, Lish steadied herself and waited for the precise moment when the creature would be mid-motion and unable to stop itself.

She pulsed the spear out, and with a pathetic yelp, the piggish brute took the tip of her weapon and kept sliding along the haft. With an expression like shock, Lishuu watched the Mob evaporate into strands of data like she'd hit it with a speeding car. 

"Good lord!" she cried out in surprise. "I... I got it!" she announced, flustered. 

She took stock of the situation and deflated a bit. "But of course, no drops."

[0, 0] Starla | Level: 4 | HP: 78/80 | EN: 5/8 | DMG: 4 | MIT: 5 | EVA: 1 | KEEN: 1
[0, 0] Lishuu | Level 4 | HP: 77/80 | EN: 4/8 (+1, -2) | DMG: 4
[0, 0] Recon | Level 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN:  1/8 | DMG: 8 
[0, 0] Koga | HP: 760/760 | EN: 76/76 | DMG: 15 | EVA: 2  | MIT: 18 | ACC: 4 | BRN: 24 | BLT: 24 | FALN: 4 | REGN: 10

Boar Pup 2 | HP: 0/5 (-6) | DMG: 3
Boar Pup 4 | HP: 0/5 | DMG: 3
Boar Pup 5 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3

ID# 186167 Battle: 10 [Critical Hit]

ID# 186168 Loot: 1 [No drop]

Koga told her to pay attention, but honestly, she was already paying all the attention she could muster. This kind of thing just wasn't... wasn't for her. Even when Starla told her to continue fighting, and that she'd pick up the slack, Lishuu's Accuracy got no better. He attacks never hit. And no, it was painfully obvious that she was expected to pull her own weight.

Her shoulders visibly sagged. What a tragedy, to be trapped in a world where your skills meant nothing. People thrived in society when they had something other people could use or benefit from, but inside of Aincrad, all the possibilities that the world beyond carried were translated into a system where numbers reigned Supreme.

Small wonder that she was useless.

Even Koga wanted none of her cheer and that was enough to drive anyone mad. "Let's just worry about getting you two those materials," she said, her voice measured. She didn't care about the quest anymore, and if she could have walked away, she would have. The frustration didn't show on her face, but she was ready to disregard this encounter entirely.

ID# 185799 Battle: 3

[1 - Boar 4] Starla | Level: 4 | HP: 79/80 | EN: 5/8 | DMG: 4 | MIT: 5 | EVA: 1 | KEEN: 1
[0] Lishuu | Level 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN: 5/8 (+1, -2) | DMG: 4
[0] Recon | Level 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN:  0/8 | DMG: 8 
[0] Koga | HP: 760/760 | EN: 76/76 | DMG: 15 | EVA: 2  | MIT: 18 | ACC: 4 | BRN: 24 | BLT: 24 | FALN: 4 | REGN: 10

Boar Pup 2 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3
Boar Pup 4 | HP: 1/5 | DMG: 3
Boar Pup 5 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3

The others continued to fight, but it seemed they were an overall ineffective bunch. Lish realized Starla had missed just before she brought her own weapon around to attempt to do anything, but her spear pierced only air once more. The blue haired girl felt her confidence floundering, almost completely glad that she hadn't tried to fight up until this point. What would have happened to her without Koga here to help? What about the others? She'd be missing, she'd likely have been hit by now, and her health would slowly be whittling away...

Well, on the bright side, she wasn't alone.

If nothing else, she could be supportive. Wasn't that the role she wanted to play anyway? "You've got this guys!" she called out to the others, snapping round to cup her hands alongside her mouth to enhance the volume of her voice. If she couldn't do anything, she would be certain to assure that the others could. She was better at being a cheerleader than the protagonist. With a bright smile on her face, she took a deep breath and called out to Koga.

"Thanks for your help, Koga!"

ID# 185150  Battle: 4 Looks like I'm not doing anything useful today.

[0] Starla | Level: 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN: 5/8 [-2 Miss!] [+1 Turn Regeneration] | DMG: 4 | MIT: 5 | EVA: 1 | KEEN: 1
[0] Lishuu | Level 4 | HP: 77/80 | EN: 6/8 | DMG: 4
[0] Recon | Level 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN:  3/8 | DMG: 8
[0] Koga | HP: 760/760 | EN: 76/76 | DMG: 15 | EVA: 2  | MIT: 18 | ACC: 4 | BRN: 24 | BLT: 24 | FALN: 4 | REGN: 10

Boar Pup 2 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3
Boar Pup 4 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3
Boar Pup 5 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3

Oh, my. A lot of things just happened at once.

Lishuu was taken aback with how quickly the conversation spiraled. Between wires getting crossed beyond the control group, there were newcomers. New factors to the equation, variables that could skew the result. It wasn't good. She couldn't bring them back around when she had no idea where things fell apart. Instead, she tried her very best to focus on the things that were positive and keep the people who she was talking to from descending into the chaos. 

"Wow, then you're doing a great job," she said to Blue, who very earnestly wanted people to try her food and just talk about that. She could see the discomfort between the lines where the girl had suddenly become the focus of the talk between Koga and Sketch, even if only briefly. She tried to deflect. Lish kept that in mind. It was the Dazia person who Sketch said to have recognized that finally drew her attention when the other woman practically verbally assaulted another Player just for patting her head. There was conflict there; because it was unsolicited contact, it was absolutely uncalled for. However, the measured response was very clearly not measured. Raw, emotional, and violent: was this girl a victim? Lish bit her lower lip thoughtfully and looked down at the table.

Wow, this is a very delicate situation...

She finally decided to return to the conversation she'd been having with Astralin. There was at the very least a modicum of sanity there, and with some effort, she might be able to find a way to bring the others back to that. "I really like that idea," she said cheerily as she leaned hard into the positivity that she had in boundless amounts. If she let herself show as upset now, the situation might not be salvageable at all. "When I inevitably figure out what profession I'd like to take, I will be sure to do something similar to keep all the information I get together. This looks really well kept," she praised, genuinely.

Praise was always positive, right?

Just like that, the others had killed two boars and left her behind. Lish felt the first pangs of frustration from combat and realized that she did not like the feeling. There was something inherently competitive about it, like she'd failed to measure up. It made her feel inadequate. 

Recon, for as annoying as he was, actually landed the first blow. His attack came dangerously close to wiping out more than one of the pups, but the one hit that landed did more than enough. Starla followed up with a powerful looking hit that carved the second ham and set the table neatly. All Lish had to do was finish the job.

And she couldn't even do that. Her spear thrust wide of the Boar Pup, which squealed wildly in disapproval at the action and started to wildly flail around the group. 

[0] Starla | Level: 4 | HP: 80/60 | EN: 6/8 [-1 Critical Hit +2!] [+1 Turn Regen] | DMG: 4 | MIT: 5 | EVA: 1 | KEEN: 1
[0] Lishuu | Level 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN: 6/8 [-2] | DMG: 4
[0] Recon | Level 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN:  2/8 [-6] | DMG: 8
[0] Koga | HP: 760 | EN: 76 | DMG: 15 | EVA: 2  | MIT: 18 | ACC: 4 | BRN: 24 | BLT: 24 | FALN: 4 | REGN: 10

Boar Pup 2 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3

 ID# 184564 Battle: 4 <Miss>

In the next moment, Starla readied her weapon, visibly shaking. They were all nervous, really. The idea of fighting in this world was daunting. A single slip up would mean death, and she didn't want to die. Not like this. Not to some meager Boar Pup, a creature so weak that the people reading the monument might actually laugh at her. 

No, she wanted to go home.

With a flick of her finger across her inventory, she summoned one of the weapons Koga had crafted for her. She'd have to thank him again for that- without it, she would probably be absolutely worthless. She charged in behind Starla, who missed, but didn't seem all that phased by it. Maybe she was still too nervous to be upset?

Lish felt similar. She wasn't trembling, but her mind was scattered across a million other things. Dying, living, and everything in between. It wasn't even unbelievable that she missed the way she did. Her "Sky Reach" lived up to its name as she stabbed wide of her target and the weapon sliced through air. 

"Sod it," she cursed gently.

[0] Starla | Level: 3 | HP: 60/60 | EN: 4/6 [-2 Miss] | DMG: 4 | MIT: 5 | EVA: 1 | KEEN: 1
[0] Lishuu | Level 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN: 4/6 [-2] | DMG: 4
[0] Recon | ?
[0] Koga | ?

Boar Pup 1 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3 (ID# 184039 Battle: 3 / I suck)

Boar Pup 2 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3
Boar Pup 3 | HP: 5/5 | DMG: 3

Stats and Level info!

Lishuu 

• Total EXP: 5865
• Total SP: 55
• Current Level: 11

HP: 220/220 EN: 40/40

Base Damage: 1 

Threads!

Am I doing this right? 
Together Now! 

"For me, yeah!" Lish responded immediately to Starla's question. Koga had engaged with Recon, thankfully, so there was no reason to match wits with the man. He would be helpful in the quest to come, assuring that none of them had to worry much about the boars overrunning them, but beyond that she did not much enjoy the idea of talking to him. "I'm hoping with all of us working together, it'll be a walk in the park!"

Honestly, as they approached the field Lishuu steered herself onto the other side of Starla, away from Recon. With a buffer between them, she hoped that she wouldn't attract any more of the man's attention. Meanwhile, Koga served the greater good for everyone by making himself the middle man and drawing the other man's proverbial aggro.

Was this what it felt like to join a raid group?

"So, now we find enemies, right?" she asked. Lish still hadn't quite put everything together.

It was a very strong conversation from the beginning, in her opinion; though it was possible the others didn't feel the same. Sketch seemed pretty interested in booze, but he did circle back to the Blacksmithing question that sparked things. When Koga responded, he pulled a weapon and showed it off. He described it as perfect, then went on to explain how the game separated items into different tiers and varying levels of success that dictated their usefulness. It was a strange, even categorical system that went leaps and bounds beyond her understanding; but it seemed simple enough in theory that if she had to figure things out for herself, she might just barely be able to scratch by. Admittedly, she wasn't the type of person who thought in numbers and figures. She liked to think about the relationships between things in a completely different way. 

"Ha.... okay," she muttered, attempting to latch on to any part of the conversation that did make sense. She couldn't join in as things were going right now. When Astralin spoke up, she did so in a way that Lish could definitely relate to. "Right?" the blue haired girl thrust a finger up as if to agree with the other girl's sentiment. "I took a seminar my last semester about note taking and brevity, and how it can save time and optimize what you get out of a lecture. Super interesting stuff!" Lish hesitated for a moment as she related that material back to the conversation at hand. "I imagine it might be difficult for someone else to read, but you know exactly what you're trying to say and it helps you when you're trying to do your crafting?" the girl asked thoughtfully.

When the girl who'd offered them sweets came around, Lish accepted one with a big smile on her face. "Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed as she took a bite out and sampled the flavor, since that was likely what the woman was going for anyway. "They're quite good," she told Blue, "I take it you've had no small amount of practice?"

She tried her best not to react when the strange woman had her outburst. Granted, she was startled by it, but the others had brought her attention to the woman in a way that abated any real surprise. Instead, she attempted to keep the peace by addressing everyone. "The cookies are quite good, right?" When her root beer came, she washed down the confection with the sweet, yet somehow subtly bitter flavor of the drink. With a languid smile on her face, she placed the mug back down on the table. 

Lish mouthed the words "thank you" to Koga and smiled apologetically before she turned to head back toward town. She looked to Roy with a kind wave, sucking in a breath and holding it for a heartbeat. "I think you'd be better off asking Koga, honestly," she told him, completely honestly. "He was the one who figured the answer out, not me." She struck off after that, managing to find the wherewithal not to make another horrid face because of the infuriating man. She didn't want to start developing wrinkles at a young age. Err... could she develop wrinkles during a full dive? Technology was so confusing now that the line between virtual reality and true reality were beginning to blur.

She headed through the gates to the town and made a beeline for the Alchemist who'd given them the chore. Once she arrived, the old man smiled. "Ah, there you are!" he greeted her warmly. "Thank you, I've been meaning to get these for myself, but I just haven't been able to break away from my work. Now, if you'd follow me right this way, I'm going to have you help me with one more little thing."

"Of course!" she said sweetly, following along behind him as he led the way to his workstation. 

"You're going to help me craft a potion!" he explained, and Lish gasped in surprise. "Not to worry, though- I'll show you once, first."

"Oh, whew," she laughed. "Alright!" She watched as Zackariah set about moving the materials together and each part of the process that went into crafting a potion. After he finished, the man gestured for her to take over. She gave a thumbs up. "Okay, I'll give it the old college try!" She went through all the motions, albeit with much less finesse than the Alchemist had, and once she was finished, the materials combined in the form of a crude potion that seemed like it would be palatable.

"You've done it!" The man smiled as he took the potion and congratulated her. "One last thing- will you take this package to Lyle Tealeaf, the Blacksmith for me? I seem to have thrown my back out..."

Lish suppressed laughter. "Oh my, you didn't need to help me so much!" she told him. "Of course, I'd be delighted to do it for you."

ID# 183613  Craft: 6 <uncommon potion crafted!>

If there were something amiss, Lishuu neither noticed or had any interest in noticing. She was preoccupied with the group of people that she was with. Should someone decide to join them, that might be different.

She smiled to Sketch as he brought chairs out for Astralin and herself. "Thank you!" she told the man. Honestly, she could have done it herself, but kindness seemed so rare now that she looked beyond her bold, modern feminist viewpoint and considered the action to be done without chauvinistic intent. It seemed like Aincrad could use more people who didn't get needlessly offended, and she was quite happy to fill that need. "I'll have some root beer!" she told the wait staffer who came to take their orders, scooting herself closer to the table and looking around to the group that had gathered.

It almost felt like she was back in the real world, seated among friends. Like nothing had changed, even though everything had. She was fond of the illusion, however fleeting it may have been.

Koga wasted no time in bringing Sketch's question back to light, and Lish- fully aware that conversations weren't supposed to be split at the table- took an immediate interest. Even if she had no intention of becoming a Blacksmith, there might be something useful in what Koga or Sketch had to contribute. "Oh yes, yes, please," she bid Sketch, "I've not found a profession for myself yet, I'm quite interested to hear how these things work." She looked between the two men eagerly, then glanced to Astralin. "Have you decided on what profession to take?" she asked the other girl.

"I've found it!" she cheered merrily as she plucked the last of the materials she needed from the ground. Dismissing it to her inventory, she rounded to give Roy a wry smirk. "Maybe if you stopped trying to multitask, you'd be done too, eh?" With a coy smirk, she turned to Koga, whereupon she actually smiled. "There! With that, I can head back ahead of you and get these turned in. That is, if you don't mind?"

Her back was turned to the other man now, so that he wouldn't see the desperation in her expression as she silently implored with the other man to give his blessing. "I think there's still another portion of this quest to do, if I recall correctly? I'm not exactly sure what he said, if I'm being honest." She had some hope that Koga would take mercy on her, but there was also the possibility that he wouldn't want to be left alone with Roy. She couldn't blame him for that, either.

ID# 183553 Loot: 14 <5/5 materials found>

"No, no, I just didn't want to assume!" she chortled, waving a hand in front of her face to accentuate that she'd meant nothing by what she'd said. "I'm certainly alright with having friends, the more the merrier!"

Lish glanced to Recon, who told them his actual handle at that point. Then he made an awkward comment about them being a tightly knit couple, and she simply laughed. "Oh dear me, no, I've not known him nearly long enough." She crossed her arms. "You know, Recon, I'm shocked! Out of all your jokes, that was the funniest I've heard."

Finally, the message crossed her HUD that Starla wanted to be friends. With a smile, Lish accepted the request. "I'm positively chuffed!" she exclaimed merrily as she clapped her hands together. "Let's do our best, Starla!"

At this point, they finished turning in the first part of the quest by handing Zackariah's package over to Lyle, and the Blacksmith had a quest ready for the three of them...

Everyone seemed to be in agreement. The life in this Town quickly became a gray that neither got darker or lighter with time, but instead sucked in all those too transient to leave it. There were people in this world who had grown accustomed to routine, no different from their daily lives on the outside. It was interesting to her, fascinating even to see how the social hierarchy asserted itself, even with the lack of a proper system to direct it. The evolution of mankind truly was as acute as it was chronic. 

"Sketch," she smiled, "and Astralin. It's good to meet you both. I do hope we'll all see more of each other."

She was never sure with people in SAO, some came back and others left for long periods of time. There were even a few she hadn't seen again. She didn't bother to go look over the monument and check for their names; because that honestly seemed a morbid habit to get into, and she wasn't interested in developing that particular affliction.

When Koga stopped and declared that they'd found the place, she appraised it with a sage nod. "Quaint," she smirked, which quickly grew into a smile. "Homely, even. This is my kind of place! Excellent choice, Koga."

It was always nice to find a smaller, out of the way place to settle down. Mostly, she found the crowded places in "good" locations were staging grounds for fights and the sleaziest sorts of people who wanted to flaunt their attitudes out in the open. That was what befell Chad and Virgil after all..

"Shall we?"

"I... what?" Lish blinked, flabbergasted. The last time she'd bombed a math test was in year ten, and she'd managed to scrape by in spite of that by sheer virtue of a calculator. Since she didn't have any means of graphing slope intercept form- or even really a memory of what that entailed, given she would never use it again- she only stared at the man with a vacant expression. "What does that have to do with picking flowers?" she asked skeptically.

She glanced toward the ground again where she had seen a material, then realized that she grabbed for it too hard and accidentally ruined the item. "Oh dammit all," she cursed as she fumbled her attempt and stood once more. "I can't be arsed to do random maths while I'm trying to focus on material gathering," she said, "I'm sorry Roy, I'm afraid I can't be of any help to you."

ID# 183528 Loot: 10 <Shoot! Barely missed it. I blame the math.>

4/5

"So good to meet you Starla," Lish absolutely beamed as the girl greeted her with an upbeat attitude. It was a relief to meet someone in this world who wasn't already sinking in depression; or at least, who hid it better than everyone around them. "I'm just getting started as well! Perhaps we could help each other out, hey? Us ladies have to stick together- or, summat."

At the interaction between the new woman and Koga, Lish blinked. "...I'm sorry?" she questioned, veiled horror pricking at her brows. "You... threw a dagger at her?" Koga hadn't seemed the type to proliferate domestic violence. Perhaps she had taken it out of context? The blue haired girl gave him plenty of room to explain himself before she shifted her attention back to the matter at hand.

Recon had caught up, but didn't have a great deal to say. That much came as a relief. Doubtless there would be plenty more of his antics to make up for it ahead. "We haven't really known each other long," Lish gestured finally to Koga. "At most, he's been quite helpful and I've appreciated his time. I certainly find him to be at least the friendly type...?"

She was done long before Roy, but waiting for him necessarily ripped the wind from her wings.

The other Player seemed to delight in taking his sweet time, in turn forcing her to stand idly by while he told his horrendous jokes. Lish managed to smile and only grimaced ten times or less throughout the ordeal. She counted that among one of her greatest accomplishments. The blue haired girl plodded along the path ahead of the others, only somewhat sympathetic that she had left Koga behind to buffer her from the man. Honestly, she doubted that the stronger Player had any more patience for it than she did.

Lish turned her attention back toward the town as she walked away from Zackariah, armed now with the next quest in the line that took her toward one Lyle Tealeaf. "Well, he can't be all bad," the British woman pondered aloud. "Anyone with a name like Tealeaf would be a right swell sort, I imagine." 

Already, she'd managed to discern the position of the questgiver on her HUD. The blinking yellow mark got closer with each step until she was suddenly assailed by the pungent scent of wrought iron. With the heat of the forge in her face, Lish couldn't help but to wipe the suddenly apparent beads of sweat from her face. "I don't know what I was expecting," she muttered, only slightly disappointed that she wasn't met with tea and crumpets. That would have been a most exquisite development. 

"Oh, hello!" she blinked suddenly in surprise at the sight of another woman, one not too distant in age from herself. It was a massive relief to see someone else in this god forsaken world who knew the struggle the way she did. At least, that was her first thought. Then it struck her that she'd made an overgeneralization. The best course of action, obviously, was to smile cordially.

"I suppose I should have thought there might be others doing these quests. How silly of me," Lish twirled a loose hair between her fingers, then let it drop as she extended her hand. "I'm Lishuu," she greeted Starla gingerly. "Who might you be?"

Lishuu

Level 4

80/80 HP 8/8 EN

4 DMG

Sky Reach [3DMG]

At the very least, things seemed to get a bit easier when Roy found his first material. Maybe they were rallying? She attributed it to the fact that she was slowly becoming numb to his odd humor, and perhaps that was giving her a bit more focus on the task at hand. Initially, she was worried that the man might struggle for several hours and ultimately give in. Now, she had a bit more hope.

Every bit of hope mattered. She snatched up another material not far from where the last had been and smiled languidly. "Thank god indeed!" she exclaimed cheerily as she stood upright and tucked the material neatly away in her inventory, where it would wait for transportation to the Quest giver. "Though, this quest does seem a bit more difficult than the explanation would have us believe," she commented. "It didn't say anything about the drop rates or... well, I guess I'm quite chuffed about that, honestly."

She didn't let on any more than that about her absolute disdain for numbers and all things related to them. It wasn't important, and she didn't want to be made fun of over it. Roy didn't seem the type who would let something like that go.

"I've got one more to find," she told them eagerly.

ID# 183388 Loot: 14 <4/5 materials gathered>

And just like that, Lish snapped back. She let her frustration vent and immediately felt better for it. It didn't even matter that the man named Roy seemed to have an awful personality, or that he found it necessary to trample on her attempt to console him. She took a deep breath and spun back around. Koga got quiet on her, but while she hadn't seen the turmoil in his expression, Lishuu was an expert at reading the room. She could tell without even asking that she'd struck a cord, somewhere.

Now wasn't the time to ask about it, though. She didn't know Koga all that well, and if he thought that it was better to keep quiet about whatever issue he had, then she had to trust his judgment. There was no room in a fledgling friendship for forcing your thoughts or views on others. If she wanted to show this man respect, his boundaries were the first thing she had to give it to.

Just like that, she saw another gleaming blue flower, right near Koga's feet. She hurried over and plucked it, then held it up for the man to examine. "See?" she asked him, smiling all the while. "Sometimes it's the little things, you know?"

The young woman dismissed the item to her inventory and glanced back to where Roy still seemed to be struggling. "What should we do?" she asked Koga. "He doesn't seem to be very good at finding them on his own."

ID# 183328 Loot: 12 <3/5 materials found>

Lish blinked in response. Is everyone trapped in this place this bleak?  Her eyes betrayed nothing of the sentiment dancing behind her eyes, and instead, she managed to force a bigger smile. "Oh, come now," she joked, laughingly. "Things aren't so bad. I mean, even if they're all trying to kill you, none of them have managed to do it yet. You must be quite strong." The compliment would hopefully stroke his ego a bit, if not bring him slightly into better humor. She didn't want the people around her to stay in this kind of mood. It was hard enough with the game being so difficult to grasp for her to keep her own good spirits. She would be damned if she let the darkness creep in.

"And you, too, mister... Roy," she coughed. While she didn't necessarily treasure their considerably short time together, it wasn't like she hated the other Player. If she did grow to hate him, it wouldn't be because of his terrible timing and overall flat sense of humor. "You're out here doing your best, right? Soon enough, there won't be a hotel room in this game you can't pay for." She busied herself with looking for more materials immediately thereafter, turning her face away from the others. Only then did she allow any of her vexation to show. It didn't have to be this negative! Why was everyone being so negative!

She frowned as she failed to spot anything at all. "Eheheh, looks like my luck's run dry," she chortled. "Ah well! Can't win 'em all, right?"

ID# 183310 Loot: 3 <fail: 2/5>